Why to watch: Two words: Thierry Henry. The French legend is past his prime, but one of the most effective goal scorers the game has known. The Red Bulls are a marquee team. The Timbers, losers of three in a row, are particularly hungry for a good result. Even without several of its stars because of Gold Cup play, New York brings a noteworthy side to Portland.

Watch for: Not John Spencer. The Timbers head coach will not be on the bench for today’s game. He is serving a one-game suspension for being ejected from last weekend’s match against Colorado. He is allowed to speak to the team in the locker room before the match and at halftime, and can communicate with the bench, where assistant coach Trevor James will be in charge.

NOTABLE

• Stephen Keel, who played for the Timbers USL Second Division team the last two seasons, is expected to start at central defender for New York. He landed with the Red Bulls after the Timbers decided not to offer Keel a MLS contract.

• Henry (seven goals in his last eight games) and forward partner Luke Rodgers (five goals this season) are the highest scoring pair of forwards in MLS this season.

“Henry and Rodgers have performed tremendously well together as a partnership,” Spencer said. “But if we approach the game in the same manner mentally and physically, pass the ball the way we did, I think we’ll cause teams problems.”

• Timbers defender Jeremy Hall played in 37 matches with the Red Bulls over his first two MLS seasons. The 22-year-old was acquired by Portland last November for a third-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about this game a little more,” Hall said this week. “The most important thing is at’s another good opportunity for us to bounce back and to get a win.”

• New York has missed more players because of the Gold Cup tournament than any other MLS Club. The Red Bulls expect to have attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario back for today’s game, but are still without both regular centerbacks.